Rhubarb and Orange Tart

Rhubarb is here! And since it cost me nearly seven bucks, I felt the need to do something slightly elevated. This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite books, How to Bake (Malgieri). The crust reminds me of the sweet, cake-like pastry crusts that Ed's mum makes using self-rising flour. I think my favorite thing about this is the very spring-like color you get from the bright pink rhubarb and the yellow/orange custard. Another nice thing is that poaching the rhubarb cooks it without turning it to mush. Now don't freak - I'm not a "poaching" kind of gal but this was really easy. And it tastes really good.

Rhubarb and Orange Tart

Sweet Dough
2 1/2 c. flour
6 T sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
8 T cold unsalted butter
2 large eggs
milk or cream if needed

Poached Rhubarb
1 1/2 lbs fresh rhubarb
1 c. sugar
2 c. water

Crumb Topping
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
8 T unsalted butter

Orange Custard
2/3 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. sugar
grated zest of one orange
1 t. vanilla
4 egg yolks

For the Sweet Dough:
Note: This recipe is will make 2 crusts, but only one is needed for this recipe. I'm very paranoid about making too little pastry dough, probably because I'm not the best at rolling it out, so I usually make enough for two crusts and then just use the extra for jam tarts for the kids.
Combine dry ingredients in the food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Cut the butter into 1-tablespoon pieces and add to the work bowl. Pulse repeatedly at 1-second intervals until the mixture is fine and powdery and resembles cornmeal. Add the eggs and pulse 10 more times, until the dough forms a ball. If your dough seems too dry to form a ball, and milk or cream, a tablespoon at a time, until it does. Try not to over-process. Scrap dough onto floured work surface, knead a couple of times to bring together, and shape into a disk. Wrap w/plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour or up to two days.

For the Rhubarb:
If the rhubarb is well developed and tough looking, string it (like you would celery). Cut the stalks into 2-inch lengths. Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a large shallow pan, add the rhubarb, cover, turn off the heat, and allow the rhubarb to cool completely.

For the Crumb Topping:
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir the melted butter into the dry ingredients. Allow to stand a minute, then by hand break into coarse crumbs. Set aside.

For the Orange Custard:
Whisk all ingredients together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Set aside.

To assemble the tart, roll out the chilled dough and line a 10-inch (or so) tart pan. Drain the rhubarb (Don't forget to save the syrup for another use - it's really good.) and arrange it in the tart shell. Pour the custard filling over the rhubarb and scatter the crumb topping over the top.
Bake the tart 30-40 minutes, until the filling has set and the crumbs have browned lightly. Cool on a rack.

Raisin Filled Cookies

The other day my friend Jill was waxing nostalgic about ZCMI's raisin-filled cookies, and it made me realize that I was not alone in the ritual of shopping at ZCMI and then going to the candy bakery for a treat.
Back in the day, ZCMI was a cool store. In the early eighties, it was the place to get your Gunny Sack dress for the dance. We bought rugby shirts, Girbaud jeans, and sweatshirts with ivy league school names on them. I bought a really cool pair of ESPRIT pennyloafers there. If we were there without our parents, we'd cruise through the perfume & cologne section and sample Obsession, smell the Drakkar & Polo and think about the guys that wore those. Then we'd go to the candy bakery, take a number, and get some date and raisin-filled cookies to eat on the way home.
Our favorite cookies were the date-filled ones. I recall the cookie being made with brown sugar, as the dough was a little darker and heavier than the white, raisin-filled ones. I think they also had some ground pecans in the dough. I'd like to get the recipe for both, but have yet to find a good match.
Here's my attempt at some raisin-filled cookies. They're made with a brown sugar cookie dough, and the dough is really soft, so you'll have to refrigerate it and use a enough flour when rolling it out. The filling is more complex than ZCMI's, as it incorporates chopped walnuts. I didn't have dark raisins, so I substituted a mixture of golden raisins and currants. Don't overbake them, or they'll be really tough. I think they taste better the second day.

Raisin Filled Cookies
Dough:
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1/2 c. shortening
2 t. vanilla
3 eggs
4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
zest from 1 lemon (optional)
Filling:
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. water
1 T. flour
1 1/2 c. raisins, chopped
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 T. lemon juice

For dough, sift together flour, baking soda and salt in bowl; set aside. Beat together shortening, butter, and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add lemon zest, vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in dry ingredients. Separate dough and flatten into two disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
For filling, stir together brown sugar and flour in medium saucepan. Add water and remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, stir until thickened. Cool.

Roll out dough and cut out circles.

Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Moisten edges of cut dough with a little water, then add 1 t. or so of the cooled filling. Add dough "lid", flatten slightly and press edges to seal. Prick tops with fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-13 minutes, until cookies just barely begin to change color. Note: 1 had about 1 cup of extra filling.